Archive for October, 2012

With a massive storm coming our way here on the east coast, I have been having a hard time not feeling sad for the leaves. Of course I feel worried for the people in harms way as well, that’s not us here in Maine really, but the leaves have been speaking to me directly. I see them on their branches, hanging on for dear life, and know by tomorrow evening most of them will be forced down to the ground. With winds of 45 mph or more here in Maine how could they not be?

Now, I know it’s the tree that is actually forcing the leaves off. It’s all a part of evolution and I totally get it. I understand that the trees are preparing for winter and they need all the sustenance they can muster so it’s goodbye leaves! But still … the extra wind … it’s going to be hard on my leaf friends.

So, today I took a leaf walk. I wanted to share a few quick photographs with you so we could take a moment of pause for the leaves. Those of you who have Issue No. 8 know how I feel about pressing leaves and keeping them “alive” in this way. I still remember the first leaf collection I made back in elementary school. (I wonder if my parents have it?)

I marvel … each leaf is unique and individual, colorful and ever-changing. Look at all the beautiful shapes! Even the little ones have something bold to say. And on a closer look the details are just so extraordinary.

I’ll be trying to keep calm tomorrow as I see them whipping around in the air. Leaves, I’m thinking of you. And moreover I wish everyone in the path of the storm safety and calm too. Be well, friends.

Since I have officially closed the chapter on Summer, 2012 (meaning: I have looked through all of my film and chosen the photographs I’ll be featuring in our Quarterly No. 9 glossy gallery, Stephanie and my special place to remember each season) I thought I would take a moment in this space to remember some of my favorite bits. There are way too many to feature this week, so I might have to continue this at some point, but here’s a start. Goodbye Summer, 2012!

The top two photographs were taken just around the summer solstice. It’s such a time of promise! You have the whole summer ahead of you and so much adventure to come. I made these paintings (the large turqoise/grey piece just above is actually my sweethearts) at a time when I was feeling so joyous about it all. The world around felt about to burst! Of all of the doodles and paintings I did this summer I like these the best.

These two photographs above were taken on our family trip to Mount Desert Island. We saw the most extraordinary gardens and sunsets. The bottom image was taken from the screened-in deck of a great lobster pound. The colors that night were unmatched! Of all of my summer wanderings I think this was my favorite trip.

My family had a very special summer toast in early July out on the rocks at Two Lights State Park. You’re not supposed to drink there so don’t tell! It was a beautiful evening and best of all was that we were all together (something that happens more rarely these days).

My oldest nephew, Miles, made his first visit to our little rental cottage mid-summer and we had such a great day. We painted rocks (the ones in the photographs were actually ones that my sweetie and I painted last year; it was awesome to see they were still at the cottage after a whole year) and went for a row in the little boat. We stayed close to shore even though Miles wanted to go out further. He slept all the way home.

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To be straight, it was a very busy summer, and I felt tired and overwhelmed quite often, but ultimately, what I will remember the most, are the people. My parents and dear friends visiting and staying in our flat … sharing the day to day with us at the most beautiful time of the year. It really was a nice summer in so many ways. I hope it was for you as well.

I am a little bit late to the game, but I am trying my best to get into the rhythm of autumn this week. This past month was so busy with work and travel that I was lucky if I thought ahead to dinner that evening, let alone stocking my pantry for fall cooking. Fortunately, I had some time to clear out my fridge and pantry this week (if I can’t remember when I bought it, into the compost it goes. I try to start each season fresh). A little planning and a trip to the market later, we are better prepared to eat well with minimum effort (instead of reaching for the take-out menus).

Some tips:

:: In the cooler months, I roast a chicken on Sunday, make a bone broth for soup on Monday, and use extra meat for a dish later in the week. This week we will have chicken soup with barley, lemon and kale and chicken hand pies later in the week.

:: Onions, carrots and celery will become mirepoix for the freezer, so I will be ready to make simple soups and stews quickly in a pinch.

:: My favorite fresh herbs from the summer are being replaced with warming dried spices—smoked paprika, cumin and curry blends are some of my favorite additions.

:: I don’t buy a lot of canned food, but I do like to have tomatoes, coconut milk (for a cauliflower curry), and chipotle chilis in adobo sauce (for lentil chili) in my pantry.

:: Squash and root veggies are really calling to me right now. We will have sweet potato biscuits with our soup.

:: Tender salad greens are being replaced by hardier kale and bitter greens like mustard. I eat these fresh or shredded as a topping for a brothy soup.

:: Dried lentils (I stock brown and the more tender red lentils in my pantry) are great to have around because they cook up so quickly.

:: Ditto for whole grains. My kids love pearled barley, quinoa, and wheat berries. Put them in soups, cook them in broth to serve on the side, or use them as you would rice.

Happy autumn eating!

ps: The bag holding the onions above is a sneak peek at an alternative use for a project that will be featured in the new Quarterly…coming soon, subscribe today!

As long as I can remember my brother has always loved yellow cake. When we were young it was yellow cake out of a box with no frosting. That was his favorite birthday cake year after year. As an adult he not only loves plain yellow cake on his birthday but also as just an every day cake to have around the house on any given week day. Through his unwavering dedication to yellow cake over the years this little sis has learned to respect it herself.

Thank goodness last year we all found the Scratch Baking Co. recipe for yellow cake in the issue second of Baker’s Notes. (If you are interested in some good sweets recipes you should buy Issue 2 for sure. The chocolate cake is just as amazing)

It has been really nice to let go of the boxed yellow cake in favor of Scratch’s rich, versatile, simple “everyday yellow cake” recipe. I have to say, if my very picky bro can make the switch after years of boxed cake that must mean it’s good!

Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Butter two 9-inch round layer pans. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment mix for 30 seconds. Add softened butter and mix again until batter looks like wet sand. Add 1 cup of whole milk and mix well again stopping to scrape the sides. In a small bowl mix egg yolks, 6 tablespoons whole milk and vanilla together well and then add to the batter. Mix everything one last time until the batter is silky with no lumps. Pour into cake pans and bake for 40–45 minutes or until cakes have pulled away from the sides and a tester comes out clean.

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Now you might be wondering why you’re seeing in the photographs that the two layers were not made into one cake. I’ll tell you why. Although my bro has diversified and come around to eating a better yellow cake he’s still not sure about whether he prefers frosting or not. So, this year when I asked him, “do you want the chocolate ganache on the cake or on the side?” he answered, “half and half.” We’re making some progress toward change … slowly.

Autumn has sort of taken me by surprise this year. We had a long and beautiful Indian summer here in Oregon. The shortening of the days was almost masked by all the warmth and sunshine. But after a week working on the east coast, I returned yesterday to fall in full swing—cooler temps, rain, fallen leaves, and darkness at dinner.

Today we went in search of apples to pick (already a bit late for our favorite varieties, we discovered) and as we filled our basket, I thought back to a day in late August when we picked blackberries on Sauvie Island (I talk about our favorite spot in both 3191 Quarterly Issue No. 5 and 3191Q Notebook).

Our freezer is still well-stocked with those blackberries, so we threw in a cup as our applesauce finished simmering. The result was tart and flavorful and a vibrant red color. Summer meets autumn.

Summer Meets Autumn Blackberry ApplesauceStir this sauce into your oatmeal or yogurt or just spoon it on its own, warm or cold.

Chop and core apples (no need to peel them!) and place in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add about one inch apple juice, cider, or water to pot. Bring to a boil, lower heat to low, and simmer until apples are soft and falling apart, adding liquid as needed to keep from sticking. Once apples are soft, add blackberries and stir to incorporate. Continue cooking and stirring until blackberries fall apart. Pass mixture through a food mill or fine sieve, discarding peels and seeds. Taste your sauce. If it is too tart, sweeten with a few tablespoons of maple syrup. Store in a glass jar in the fridge or freeze.

On top of thinking about the 2012/2013 issues of Q and making plans for the year, we have been working behind-the-scenes putting together something special just for the subscribers. I want to give you a run-down of that special publication today. Subscribers (new and renewing) will be the only ones to receive this publication. We hope you love it as much as we do!

Our 3191Q Notebook came about as a collaboration with Culture Convenience Club in Tokyo, Japan. I met the good folks from CCC a few years back at the NY Art Book Fair and really loved their energy. They love books as much as we do and in talking with them I learned that they were very big fans of A Year Of Mornings telling us that “all women in Tokyo loved our book.” Of course we were honored to hear it!

They started carrying our 2011/2012 issues of Quarterly at their Daikanyama Tsutaya Shoten bookshop (a few beautiful photos of the shop can be seen here) in Tokyo and we were over the moon! Shipping boxes of our issues over to Japan really made us feel extra proud.

In talking with CCC we realized there was a great chance for a collaboration. Something special, printed in single limited edition, that would go only to their shop and our new or renewing subscribers. The ideas started to flow from there.

We knew we wanted to make a publication that was bigger in size and our 3191Q Notebook is just that measuring in at a whopping 16-1/2 x 12 inches folded (think of the newspapers you grab from stands around your city). And we knew we wanted it to include outtakes from the last year of Q. We just have too many images that we love and not everything makes it into the issues. This new piece was a great way to include those extras.

As we worked on the layout and design, 24-pages worth, we realized it was also a chance to add in some completely new content as well so the Notebook includes an unpublished recipe, notes about how to cut-up your t-shirts, our favorite books lists and more.

Lastly, we were thrilled to be able to have another opportunity to include instructions for Stephanie’s popular Hanging Plants project from Q6 (that issue is completely sold out and no longer available). We love the idea that Q supporters are still the only ones to receive this project and the Notebook the last chance for us to share it again.

So to break it down … this is one special publication and it is ONLY going to subscribers or re-subscribers (while supplies last). Once you place a subscription order your Notebook will ship to you within 1–2 weeks and then your first issue, No. 9, will arrive in mid-November. So what’s awesome is that you not only get one issue of our 3191 Quarterly FREE when you subscribe but you also get this special 3191Q Notebook. We love that this year we can give you more 3191 for less money! It’s our way of saying THANK YOU, thank you, thank you. Order your 2012/2013 Quarterly Subscription and get your FREE Notebookright here. xo

We are so excited to announce that subscriptions are now open for the 2012/2013 year of 3191 Quarterly! We are proud to be able to bring you a bigger and better issue this year at a lower price! We continue to be committed to printing our issue ad-free on recycled paper in the USA. Subscribers get one book free, are mailed their books in advance of their release online, and will receive a gift of the 3191Q Notebook. It is a tremendous opportunity and only available for a limited time. It’s going to be a great year!

We began 3191 Quarterly rather modestly two years ago. We were looking for a way to further explore our connection, our photography and our outlook on life. We wanted to tell stories that could be experienced beyond the blogging format. After our amazing experience of sharing A Year of Mornings and Evenings in book form, we wanted to put something in your hands again. We produced our first year of 3191Q simply bound in limited quantities

That first year, we developed our story-telling style and brought you along on “field trips” close to and far from our homes.

We presented our first projects with a focus natural materials, usefulness, and great design.

In our second year, we took a deep breath and made significant changes to the heft and quality of 3191Q. We changed to a perfect-binding with more pages, improved printing quality, and added a glossy seasonal insert in every issue. While we knew we wanted to keep things fresh and exciting for our readers, we also knew there was so much we didn’t want to change. We wanted to stay true to the 3191 spirit. We continued to produce all the content and photography ourselves with a focus on our everyday lives, our homes, our travels, and our communities.

Our recipes are our own tried and true favorites. Simple, flavorful, and wholesome.

Last year’s design changes allowed us to focus on giving you a volume full of visual inspiration, and we wanted to take that even further for this coming year. The 2012/2013 subscription year will feature issues that are both larger and longer, but, once again, we are keeping our unique 3191 perspective. We are excited to bring you another year of storytelling, exciting projects, delicious recipes, inspiration and advice. There is no other publication quite like 3191 Quarterly, and we are so grateful to those of you that want to share in the unique experience as subscribers.

SUBSCRIBE:3191 Quarterly Issues No. 9–12
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